Tony Delap

Biography

Tony DeLap, a pioneer of West Coast Minimalism and Op Art, has spent more than half a century producing meticulously crafted, illusionistic abstract sculptures that challenge perception with their teasing, shifting shapes, form, and sense of depth. Associated with the L.A.-based Finish Fetish movement of the 1960s, DeLap has mentored such prominent artists as Bruce Nauman and James Turrell. Staying true to Minimalism decades after the height of its popularity, he defines the work of art as “a thing in itself.” Eschewing outside references, DeLap strips art to its essence: materials and form. These materials include wood, metal, and plastics, formed into geometric shapes and multipart structures filled with illusions of depth and formal relationships that are both playful and rigorous. DeLap’s work was included in “Primary Structures” (1966) and “American Sculpture of the Sixties” (1967), two exhibitions that helped to define Minimalism.